Month: October 2023

Problem: Job says, “Am I the sea, or the sea monster, that You set a guard over me?” (Job 7:12)
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Problem: The Scriptures teach that all people will be raised bodily from the tomb (cf. Dan. 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:22; Rev. 20:4–6). Indeed, Jesus said that one day “all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth” (John 5:28–29). However, Job seems to say just the opposite, when he wrote: “he who goes down to the grave does not come up” (cf. also Job 14:12; Isa. 26:14; Amos 8:14).
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Problem: Job says, “He who goes down to Sheol does not come up” (Job 7:9). Does this passage deny the concept of the resurrection?
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Problem: Does Job 1:21 and Ecc. 5:15 teach reincarnation?
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Problem: This passage makes reference to the seven-headed, Ugaritic, mythological creature Leviathan (cf. 42:1). Does the Bible purport a belief in mythological creatures such as the Leviathan?
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Problem: Critical scholars argue that “Satan” is merely a prosecuting attorney that brings human sins to the divine council for the purpose of prosecuting them before God. In other words, Satan is not God’s adversary; he is merely one of God’s agents who prosecutes people for their sins—much like the angel of the Lord is an agent of God’s judgment (Ex. 12:23; Ps. 78:49). Is this the case?
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Problem: This passage refers to the “sons of God.” Who are they?
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Problem: Job 1:6 states that the sons of God came to present themselves to God, and “Satan also came among them.” However, this implies that Satan has access to the throne of God when elsewhere it is declared that he has been banished from God’s presence (Rev. 12:7–12).
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Problem: If Job was blameless, why did God allow Satan to afflict him? Job 1:1 and Job 1:12
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Problem: Have all people sinned or not? The Bible seems to suggest that some people never sinned.  So, what is the answer?
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Problem: Job 1:1 states, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” However, Romans 3:23 states that all have fallen short of God’s moral perfection.
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Problem: The book of Esther records, “So the king’s scribes were called… and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded to the Jews, the satraps, the governors and the princes of the provinces… He wrote in the name of King [Xerxes], and sealed it with the king’s signet ring, and sent letters by couriers on horses, riding on steeds sired by the royal stud. 11 In them the king granted the Jews who were in each and every city the right to assemble and to defend their lives, to destroy, to kill and to annihilate the entire army of any people or province which might attack them, including children and women, and to plunder their spoil” (Esther 8:9-11). Does this mean that God commanded genocide?
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Problem: Esther “pleased him and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with her cosmetics and food, gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace and transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem” (Esther 2:9). Did Esther use sex to advance into the king’s harem?
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Problem: In the record of those who returned to Jerusalem under the leadership of Zerubbabel as recorded in Ezra, there are 32 family units identified and numbered. In 18 of these instances, the numbers in Ezra are exactly the same as those found in Nehemiah 7. However, in 14 instances, the numbers differ. The difference ranges from as little as one to as much as 1,100. Why are these numbers different?
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Why are the statistics in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 different? Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 are listings of numbered people from different families. The chapters represent the statistics of the same families, but they are not identical. I have produced a grid below that lists the families that do not match. If you would like to see the grid comparing all families in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, go here.

Of 39 entries (verses), 17 do not match. They are listed below.

It is obvious from the above table, that there were many statistical differences between Ezra and Nehemiah. Though most of them are identical, some do not match. Why? The answer is simple.

Ezra was written no later than 450 B.C.1 Nehemiah should be dated during the reign of Artexerxes [1] (464-423 B.C.).[2] According to the book, “Talk Thru the Bible,” Ezra was written about 538-516 B.C.[3] where Nehemiah was written around 444-425 B.C.[4] Therefore, the dates of writing are different and the statistical differences can easily be accounted for by considering that during the difference of years, people died, families grew, etc.

I must note that there is a small percentage of copyist errors in numbers throughout the Hebrew Scriptures. It is certainly possible that some of the numbers differ due to copyist mistakes. Nevertheless, the difference in dates of writing can certainly account for the difference in numbers.

References
[1] Harrison, R. K., Introduction to the Old Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1969, p. 1143.
[2] Harrison, p. 1146.
[3] Wilkinson, Bruce, and Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru the Bible, New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983, p. 116.
[4]4 Ibid., p. 123.